A wife and a mom of six boys and one girl, residing in Minnesota. We are a family devoted to following the Lord and seeking and promoting Truth. This is a collection of my mom moments, random thoughts, and fun educational ideas for parents of young kids.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

What would Jesus watch?

I have often wondered what Jesus really thinks of t.v. and all that falls under that realm of visual entertainment. If Jesus had chosen to come to earth in our time, would He have watched t.v.? Gone to a movie? Played video games?It is not my intention to label these all as bad. However, it may be beneficial to think "what would Jesus do" for a few minutes and then analyze "why?" or "why not"? I think Jesus would prefer the real person over a screen version every time. He ministered to individuals, therefore it's almost ridiculous to imagine Him watching a screen. Sports crossed my mind.What's wrong with watching a good `ole baseball game once in awhile?Well, if He really wanted to watch the game, He could just appear there in a second I guess.How about a "social watcher"? It's the chosen activity of a group of people at the moment. Jesus would be too focused on the other people in the room for a screen to hold His interest. Yes, I realize that I'm making unrealistic comparisons - if we all wanted to follow the "what would Jesus do" we could argue that many things were "wrong" (cars...shoes...)But I think about the hours I spend staring at a screen, and then I compare that to the hours I spend in ministry. Hey, even add that to the hours I spend reading His Word, praying... screentime wins. And our family does not "watch t.v." We still watch movies, spend plenty of time on the computer being very non-productive, and even play some games - well, Brian does:)Sometimes it just makes me think ....How many other time-killers, passtimes, whatever you want to call them, will Satan be able to introduce into the lives of present-day believers because they're so cultural, so society-permeated, soaked-in, widely accepted, etc...that we don't even think about it anymore?!! How can it be WRONG??? It's everywhere! Yep, he's done a good job, huh?How many hours of screen time do we need to put in before the Holy Spirit is lulled to sleep completely?

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

If you are trying to create a debate on your blog this may be the perfect subject.

If you are going to analyze whether or not "watching tv" or staring at various "screens" is a valuable way to pass the time I think all hobbies and pasttimes should be included. Is reading a book better for you in God's eyes than watching tv? What kind of book should it be? Perhaps you are in to puzzles. Is time spent working on a puzzle more valuable than watching tv or reading a book. [BTW-All those hobbies can put a great strain on your eyes! :)] Some people really like to do woodworking, is building a knick-knack productive use of time? I could obviously go on and on. I think if you're going to have a discussion about how you spend your freetime there needs to be a broader discussion than just tv's and computers.

I don't think I try - it just happens that way.Mainly, I would like to state that my main purpose was to get the reader to think and judge for themselves whether their screen stuff was profitable for them. However, I would also like to state that I think there is a marked difference in pastimes that could be labeled as an actual activity where an active mind or active hands takes the place of passive sitting and staring (yes, I know that there are exceptions to this with the screen - games being one of them - but when it comes down to it, t.v./movies/even games is very mindless). Such as doing a puzzle (active mind), woodworking (active hands and mind - and wasn't Jesus a carpenter?), reading (active mind, although not always - evaluate this for yourself). Bottom line: why are you doing these things? Family togetherness can be had over a puzzle. Buidling knick-knacks could be a ministry. It comes down to the heart of the individual. And I'm not going to be the one to say that heart is wrong. I'm just pointing out that Satan seems to be winning a pretty big victory as millions of believers hand over their minds to be influenced by the screen, as well as their time to be stolen by very attractive visuals/storylines, ect. I suppose if someone spent as much time doing puzzles as others spend watching t.v., their time may be being wasted as well. Are we going to be followers of Christ or followers of the world?Yes, it is radical. That's my whole point.